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"It's going to be a rough one," Duncan said. "If you thought this [series] was physical, it's going to turn up about 10 notches."

"I've seen them as a major threat for years now," Duncan said. "Obviously, they beat us in the first round when we were in the [top] seat a couple years back. They've been a very solid team, a very good team. They have always played us really tough. We respect them and their capabilities and we're not surprised we're here."

"We're definitely a better team than when we faced them a couple years ago," Duncan said. "With Tiago and the size we have, it will be big for us. It will be a big man's series. We got to try to combat them that way."

Said Splitter: "They have a great frontcourt with Marc and Zach. It's not going to be easy. We've fought against them a lot of times."

'Coach, we've got an issue with Kawhi in the arena. Event management called and the lights are not on, and Kawhi's in the arena for two straight days at 6:30 in the morning. And he brought two lamps from home, and he put them up in the arena and shot.'

'Coach, we've got an issue with Kawhi in the arena. Event management called and the lights are not on, and Kawhi's in the arena for two straight days at 6:30 in the morning. And he brought two lamps from home, and he put them up in the arena and shot.'

^He's right about that! We totally shift gears, Memphis has nothing near the shooters GS had, so our philosophy changes a bit. I look for them to probably double down on Gasol or Z-Bo randomly and force the shooters to beat them.

Conley, Bayless, and Pondexter are all more than capable of knocking down shots from the outside, so can't let them get into a rhythm.

I think people are overlooking us in this series. OKC with Durant and a bunch of "others" was in every single game of that because the Grizzlies at times struggle to put up points. Our offense last series started to pick up when you look at Games 5 & 6. Hopefully it's a trend that continues to go up

Gotta protect our homecourt... I hope this team comes out with same energy the way they did in Game 3 of the GS series. If TP can come out and be aggressive, or Timmy can get Marc in early foul trouble, that'd be great.

Even though majority of ESPN analysts have us taking the series, we are still being overlooked. Now, don't get me wrong, the Grizz are legit. But Grizz fans are just writing us off as "old". I understand how they drew that conclusion 2 years ago, but we have a different team this year. I'm calling it right now... expect Baynes to have some minutes as Pop will insert him to rough up the front court of Memphis.

Even though majority of ESPN analysts have us taking the series, we are still being overlooked. Now, don't get me wrong, the Grizz are legit. But Grizz fans are just writing us off as "old". I understand how they drew that conclusion 2 years ago, but we have a different team this year. I'm calling it right now... expect Baynes to have some minutes as Pop will insert him to rough up the front court of Memphis.

Yea, most the analysts there picked us, but the general chatter is we just don't match up well with the Grizz. I respect the hell out of them. They played OKC without Westbrook and never won any game by more than 6 points.I feel like our ball movement and ability to hit 3's will be the difference. We showed it in Games 5-6 last series, so hopefully it's a trend that continues.

What we can't afford is to get into early foul trouble (mainly our bigs)& can't turn the ball over. They've got a couple shooters, but nothing like we saw last series, so we can't give them any confidence shooting the ball.

Oh, and we must protect our home court. Those guys are great and they've been great thus far. Should be a great matchup

Spurs: RJ went 12-31 in 29mpg, Splitter averaged 16mpg and didn't play the final three, no Leonard and no Green
Griz: Mayo is gone, stronger defensively, Conley is better

All this just goes to show that this is completely different than two years ago and there is no reason to even compare the two years. I will say that I think we have a better team compared to then with my only concern being the loss of Hill. But if Joseph can bring some of his same intensity, that spot should be manageable. The other perk is that Allen's offense is minimal (compared to splash brothers) so Parker could possibly cover him and let Green or Leonard try to cover Conley which will make it more difficult for him to shoot and distribute. I also think that there is no way we stop their bigs, but if we can at least contain the rest of the team we should be fine. It is not like GS in which they can get points in a hurry. Mem's offense has been pretty lackluster so far and if we can make life difficult for them inside while still defending the wings then we should be good. My favorite match ups for this series:

Conley versus Parker: I think Conley is good, we will see if he is top 5 like everyone is saying (not sure how much they defend each other though). I don't think they will explode for a bunch of scoring but it will be fun to watch them run their teams.Leonard on offense versus someone: I think he will have the advantage especially since the defensive side shoudn't be as difficult this round. I want to see a breakout performance here!Duncan versus one of the bigs: I am assuming he will matchup with Gasol, so it will be interesting to see how he handles him on defense and how well he can get his offense going. He may need to be in the defense/distributer mindset this series and let the offense flow through the other guys. Then again maybe his desire is to take this frontcourt down a notch, which would be extremely fun to watch.

Spurs: RJ went 12-31 in 29mpg, Splitter averaged 16mpg and didn't play the final three, no Leonard and no Green
Griz: Mayo is gone, stronger defensively, Conley is better

All this just goes to show that this is completely different than two years ago and there is no reason to even compare the two years. I will say that I think we have a better team compared to then with my only concern being the loss of Hill. But if Joseph can bring some of his same intensity, that spot should be manageable. The other perk is that Allen's offense is minimal (compared to splash brothers) so Parker could possibly cover him and let Green or Leonard try to cover Conley which will make it more difficult for him to shoot and distribute. I also think that there is no way we stop their bigs, but if we can at least contain the rest of the team we should be fine. It is not like GS in which they can get points in a hurry. Mem's offense has been pretty lackluster so far and if we can make life difficult for them inside while still defending the wings then we should be good. My favorite match ups for this series:

Conley versus Parker: I think Conley is good, we will see if he is top 5 like everyone is saying (not sure how much they defend each other though). I don't think they will explode for a bunch of scoring but it will be fun to watch them run their teams.Leonard on offense versus someone: I think he will have the advantage especially since the defensive side shoudn't be as difficult this round. I want to see a breakout performance here!Duncan versus one of the bigs: I am assuming he will matchup with Gasol, so it will be interesting to see how he handles him on defense and how well he can get his offense going. He may need to be in the defense/distributer mindset this series and let the offense flow through the other guys. Then again maybe his desire is to take this frontcourt down a notch, which would be extremely fun to watch.

Great Video, thanks for sharing. Got me even more anxious for the game to start...

Duncan has had success against Gasol in the past, and this year Z-Bo has struggled against us shooting the ball.

I think Parker getting it going is key. Last series, Thompson defended him well, and in Game 3 Parker went off, and figured him out. Would love to see him come out and attack from the tip like he did that game and send a message.

I can promise you this: Nobody's happy in our locker room, because we were up 2-0 (in the West finals) last year and we lost. It's just one game. It means nothing. We still have a long way to go."
-- Tony Parker

I expect them to come out with similar intensity and focus on Game 2. Obviously, they can't bank on Z-Bo only scoring 2 points again, but they can continue to make his life hell the way they did yesterday. They're defending him very similarly to the way they defended Dwight Howard. Daring their shooters & perimeter to make plays.

@JMcDonald_SAEN: Duncan on Z-Bo: "We knew coming in what he wanted to do. So far, what we game-planned worked pretty well."

@JMcDonald_SAEN: Duncan indicated defensive game-plan on Randolph was two years in the making, dating to 2011 playoff series.

Since 2011, the Spurs knew they had to defend Z-Bo differently, and it's paid off. Z-Bo has struggled shooting the ball all year against us, and after Game 1, it might not be a coincidence. I look for them to continue to make his life hell in the paint.